Oistins is a village on the South coast of Barbados and every Friday evening they have something called a fish fry. This basically means there are little stalls selling things like grilled fish, fried plantain, rice and peas etc., along with plenty of alcohol and music.
It starts at about 7pm and finishes a little after midnight and it turns into more of a party (less chilled) as the night goes on, but it’s up to you whether you just want to go there to have a look round and get some food, or have a crazy/drunken night.
The second option is quite tempting because the standard beer deal is “4 for 10” which means 4 local beers (Banks) for $10BDS which is equivalent to $5USD – ridiculously cheap. Rum punch and spirit/mixers are about $5BDS and they put a lot more spirit in there than mixer.
Here I am (left) with my Banks beer:
The ratio of tourists:locals changes throughout the night… The earlier it is, the more tourists there are.
There are various different areas you can choose from. At the back there’s a little craft/souvenir market and there are a few different areas of music – some live and some from a DJ.
One of the most popular areas, which is where I spent my evening, is a big stage with a DJ and dancers on it with plenty of space in front for people to watch or join in, surrounded by food and drink stands. The music was mostly soca (local music) and it was great to see people joining in even though they’d probably never heard it before. The atmosphere was really positive and fun.
Unfortunately the volume is really quiet on this video, but it shows the stage and a teenage tourist boy joining in with the dancing:
When it finishes there are a lot of people around so I wouldn’t worry too much about safety, and there are plenty of taxis available right there so you can get home easily, or go on to a club in nearby party zone St. Lawrence Gap if you don’t feel like sleeping.
I would definitely recommend going here once during your stay in Barbados, whatever age and type of traveller you are.
Travel With Zoe 